Playing it safe: High school students take part in a rally in Sukoharjo, Central Java, on Friday. The rally was intended to boost public awareness about HIV/AIDS in observance of World AIDS Day, which falls on Saturday Dec. 1. (Antara/Herka Yanis Pangaribowo)At daylight, the street outside Tanah Abang railway station is an illegal parking lot. By night, it turns into a red-light district where dozens of women offer themselves for paid sex.

Since the government decided to close down brothels, such as Kramat Tunggak in North Jakarta, sex workers are using the streets as their new bordellos.

Aldo, program coordinator with the Indonesian Sex Workers Organization (OPSI), told The Jakarta Post that the women were particularly prone to becoming infected with the HIV virus. Once infected, it was likely they would spread HIV among their clients. “These women have a very low barga...